A Pokémon Christmas Love Story
by Dreamer Boy
Summary: A short Christmas Advanceshipping story. Delia is hosting a Christmas party, and Ash is thrilled to hear that May will be there! But disaster strikes for May on her way to the party. Can Ash help her? Advanceshipping.
1. The Invitation

**To celebrate Christmas, here's a short festive Advanceshipping story. It's my first Advanceshipping story on here - as well as my first Pokémon** **story on here.** **If you don't like Advanceshipping, then might I suggest you read another fanfiction. I don't want any flames on this, just because it isn't what you support. I don't flame Pokeshipping and Contestshipping stories on here, so please don't flame this Advanceshipping story.**

**With that out of the way, if you support Advanceshipping, then read on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

* * *

It was late evening, December 23rd, and Ash, Dawn and Brock were camping out in a green field near a forest. The weather was quite cold and they were wearing winter jackets to keep warm.

The weather wasn't effecting Dawn's mood. She was feeling very excited. "I can't believe it's nearly Christmas! Ooh, I can't wait! Are you excited?"

"Indeed I am," smiled Brock. "I'm surprised Christmas has come so quick. I guess we've been so busy on our journeys, we've been forgetting about Christmas."

"I hope you haven't forgotten to do your Christmas shopping!" Dawn warned jokingly. "I certainly haven't! Shopping is one thing you can depend on a girl to do."

"I haven't," chuckled Brock. Then he turned towards Ash, who wearing a lonely look on his face. He was gazing down at Pikachu, who was fast asleep in his lap. Brock saw that he seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey, Ash, you okay."

Ash quickly snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh?! Oh, yeah, Brock, I'm fine! Christmas! Great! Tis the season to be jolly!"

"Then why aren't you jolly then?" asked Brock.

"Oh, I am! I am!" Ash quickly retorted, a silly grin on his face.

But deep down inside, he wasn't.

He was thinking about May. It had been months now since the two had gone their separate ways. Since then, although Ash had tried to look cheerful in front of Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and his other Pokémon, he was secretly feeling very lonely. He missed May's cheerful smile, her sapphire blue eyes, her optimism. She was like no other girl Ash had met, and since she had gone, Ash had realised she was more special than he had thought before.

And now, the fact that it was nearly Christmas made Ash feel worse. He knew Christmas was a time of love, and that was what made him miss May most. During the time he had been with her, as time went along, he had gradually begun to have feelings for her. He didn't tell her this, because he was sure she didn't feel the same why. He guessed that she liked Drew instead.

And he couldn't confide in his friends, not even Pikachu. He was much to embarrassed to admit that he had feelings for a girl.

And now that the girl had gone, he couldn't tell her at all. He wished now that he had told her.

"Ash? You okay?" asked Dawn worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine," Ash replied annoyed. "I should be, shouldn't I? It's Christmas!"

"Well, you don't look fine," replied Dawn, feeling concerned. "What is it?"

Ash sighed. No matter how much he felt depressed that May was gone, he couldn't take it out on his friends. "I'm sorry, Dawn. I've just been feeling really lonely recently."

"Why?"

Ash opened his mouth to reply, but was then interrupted by an overhead screech, which woke Pikachu up. The friends looked up to see a Pidgeotto flying low, which then landed by them. An envelope was tied to it's foot. "I wonder what that is?" Ash pondered, as he untied it from the bird Pokémon's foot. Dawn and Brock looked over his shoulder as he opened the envelope to find a folded piece of paper inside. Ash took it out, unfolded it, and read;

_Dear Ash,_

_you and your friends been working very hard this year to achieve your goals. I'm pleased with the progress you made this year, so I believe you all deserve a treat. I'm hosting a Christmas party tomorrow evening at 6:00 at home, which I'd like you to come. I've invited several of your old friends, such as Misty, Tracey, Max and May too, so they will be there too._

_Hope to see you tomorrow._

_Love you honey,_

_Mom_

_x_

Dawn and Brock burst into excitement immediately. "A Christmas party?!" They cried in unison. "Wow!"

Ash burst into excitement too - but it wasn't the fact that his mother was holding a Christmas party - it was the fact that she had invited a certain brown haired co-ordinator. When he had read the name of that girl, he could hardly believe it. "_May's coming?!"_He cried out happily before he could stop himself. He then suddenly clasped his hand to his mouth when he realised what he had shouted out. He turned to Dawn, Brock and Pikachu, who were all puzzled at what he had shouted out and why. Ash smiled nervously, blushed with embarrassment and held his hands behind his back. "Er, yeah, May's coming. And so are Max, Misty and Tracey. Ain't that great?"

"Why are you suddenly happy, Ash?" Dawn asked. "You weren't just a few minutes ago."

"Oh, I don't know, Dawn. Maybe it's just the fact that we're going to see old friends. I think that's what I needed to get me in the Christmas mood."

"But why were you sad in the first place?" The blue-haired coordinator asked. "You were just about to tell me."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter now, since everything's gonna be alright now. So let's just drop it now."

Brock looked up at the sky. It was now dark and the moon was up. "We'd best get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow, what with all the travelling to Pallet."

"But then we can have a nice party afterwards," added Dawn cheerfully. "We don't have to worry about going hungry; cause there'll be plenty of party food. You'll like that, won't you Ash?"

But Ash, though he had a huge appetite, wasn't thinking about the food that would be at the party. He was thinking about the girl who he had longed to see for so long being there.

Later that night, Brock and Dawn were asleep in their sleeping bags. Ash, however, was lying awake in his. He was so excited about seeing May again, that he couldn't sleep. Pikachu came wondering over. The mouse Pokémon had been asleep, but, haven't opened one eye, had seen his master awake.

"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash sat up and picked up his best friend. "Would you like it if we saw May again?"

"Pika!" The little yellow Pokémon replied happily in agreement.

"So am I! I can't believe we really are going to tomorrow! Well, I'd better get to sleep. I don't think she'd like it if she met us for the first time in months to find us yawning and groaning!" Ash laughed. "G'night buddy!"

Ash put Pikachu down, lay back in his sleeping bag, closed his eyes and drifted happily to sleep, soon to dream of meeting May, the girl he loved, again for the first time in months.

Tomorrow, his dream would come true.

* * *

**Okay, there's the first chapter - and there will probably be at least three chapters in this whole story. There's another festive story I want to write after this, which I aim to finish by Christmas Eve.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Journeying Back To Pallet

**Okay, here's the latest chapter to the story. I had thought before this story would be about three chapters - but it's going to be more than that, although I don't know how many - though probably less than ten.**

* * *

The next morning, the friends were up early, packing up their camping equipment and were getting ready to journey back to Pallet.

Before they began to start their journey, they went to a nearby town, and called to a big department store to do some last minute Christmas shopping.

Dawn easily found some goods she wanted to give, and was whizzing up and down the aisles, grabbing stock and putting it in her cart. Brock was also finding some items that he wanted to give to family and friends.

But Ash was having trouble with his own shopping. All he wanted to buy was something special for May. He walked up and down the aisles with Pikachu on his shoulder, finding all sorts of stock from soft Pokémon dolls to perfume. But none of them seemed special enough for a girl like May.

"I don't know," Ash sighed disappointedly to Pikachu. "Considering this is a big store, it has nothing to give May for Christmas."

"Pi!" The mouse Pokémon suddenly cried out, pointing out with his paw. Ash looked to see where he was pointing, which was one section of the aisle they were in. Standing on some shelves where some gold picture frames. On each one, above the oval space for the picture was a female name. Interested by these, Ash looked amoung them until he found one which had 'May' displayed on top.

Ash picked it up and smiled at it. Then he noticed underneath the oval was a message reading;

_You are the most kind and affectionate person anyone could meet. These is no one else in the world with a heart as big as your's. Your smile makes a dark cloudy day turn bright and sunny. Your face, as seen above, is prettier than all of Heaven's angels. You are a wonderful person, and you couldn't change even if you tried. But don't go trying to change, because you are perfect the way you are. That's what I really love about the wonderful person you are._

Ash smiled at this message. It really did describe May correctly. It was as if this certain picture frame had been made just for her, rather than for anyone named May.

"What do you think Pikachu? Do you think May will like this?"

"Pi!"

"I sure hope so buddy." So Ash went to the check out and purchased the frame. Then he put it in his backpack before going to join Dawn and Brock. He didn't want them to see it and start asking questions as to why he bought a picture frame coupled with an affectionate message.

Later that afternoon, the friends were at a nearby dock. They had bought ship tickets and were just boarding a ship that was heading for the Kanto region.

Unknown to them, Team Rocket was lurking nearby. While looking for loose change around the dock, they had spotted them and were now watching them walk up the gang plank to the ship.

"Well, well, well," remarked Jessie. "Looks like the twerps are heading back to the Kanto region."

"And so is their faithful Pikachu," added James, noticing Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.

"So our next stop is da Kanto Region!" Meowth called out.

"But how can we get there?" James asked glumly. "We don't have any money for tickets!"

"Then we do what any member of Team Rocket would do!" Jessie replied, slightly annoyed at James for being absent minded. "We'll just sneak on board!"

"We'll hide in dose crates!" Meowth pointed to three crates slacked on a trolley. So the two humans and one Pokémon ran over to the crates, opened them, quickly shoveled out the food that was kept inside (but not all of it so that they wouldn't go hungry during the journey), climbed inside each one and shut them.

A dock worker then came and pushed the trolley towards the gangplank - but found the crates were heavier than he thought. Of course, he didn't realise he was carrying two adults and a Pokémon. He thought he was just carrying food. He struggled up the gang plank, pushing the trolley with the crates carrying Team Rocket inside, and by the time he made it onto the ship, he was puffing and panting. "I hope I don't have to take these crates of the ship when we dock at the Kanto region.

For the next few hours, Ash, Dawn and Brock were on the boat which crossed the sea towards the Kanto region. Dawn and Brock found plenty to do; there was a small disco playing Christmas music, and a theatre where a choir was on display. There was a Pokémon day care centre, so Pikachu and all the other Pokémon were sent there, where they happily played with all of the other Pokémon.

Ash, however, spent the hours of travelling on the ship happily daydreaming about May.

Team Rocket, meanwhile, were not enjoying the trip, being shut inside dark crates providing them with small space. Even though they had plenty of food to satisfy their hunger, they were not happy.

"The sooner we get to Kanto region the better!" James complained grumpily. "I'd kill for leg room."

Finally, when dusk fell, the ship docked at the Kanto region. Ash, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu walked down from the gang plank. Team Rocket, who had sneak from their crates a few moments ago, spotted them. When no one was looking, they sneaked down the gangplank and silently began to follow the three friends, keeping a big distance away from them, as they started to head away from the dock.

As they walked back to Pallet town, the weather changed. Not only did it start to get colder, but it began to snow. White flakes fell gently from the grey clouds in the sky, landing on the ground.

"Oh, how lovely," remarked Dawn smiling. "I always love a white Christmas! Isn't snow pretty?"

"Yes, but it can cause alot of trouble sometimes," replied Ash, remembering several adventures involving snow he had on his journey, and how sometimes it would get him into trouble. "I just hope it won't cause trouble this year.

"Hey, it's Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year," grinned Brock. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yeah," added Dawn. "No need to worry!"

* * *

**Dawn just said her famous catchphrase; "No need to worry!" But as we know, it when she says that saying that her mother worries. So maybe we should to?**

**Needless to say, there's obviously something to go wrong in the near future - but that won't be until next chapter!**


	3. Disappointment

**We're now at chapter three, and we're now back in Pallet town! **

* * *

When darkness fell, the friends arrived back in Pallet. It looked very pretty in the snow. The houses' roofs were pure white, and children were in the gardens building snow Pokémon.

They approached Ash's house to find the front of decorated in brightly coloured Christmas lights.

"Here we are, guys," said Ash.

"Ooh, how lovely," squealed Dawn, looking at the lights. "Your Mom must really want the Christmas to be special."

"I'm sure it will be," smiled Brock.

"I _know_ it will be," cried Ash happily. "This is going to be my best Christmas ever!"

Dawn and Brock looked at each other, still confused as to why Ash was in such high spirits. But they smiled and shrugged it off. Then together, they walked towards Ash's house and disappeared through the front door. They went together into the living room to find a tall Christmas tree decorated with lights, tinsel and small models of Pokémon. Pikachu was very astonished and pleased to see that on top of the tree was a model of a Pikachu wearing a Santa Claus outfit. "Pika!"

"Mom, we're here!" Ash called out. At that moment, Delia came fron the kitchen to the living room, followed by Misty and Tracey.

"Oh, Ash, you're here! Welcome home, honey!" Delia cried. Then she ran up to her son, threw her arms around him and smothered him with kisses, much to his embaressment. The others were unable to hide their grins.

When Delia finished turned mothering Ash, she turned to Brock and Dawn. "Hi, you two. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Mrs Ketchum," Dawn and Brock replied in unison.

"Hey, Ash," smiled Tracey. "Long time, no see, buddy."

"Good to see you, Tracey," Ash smiled back. He turned to Misty. "You too, old friend."

"Darn, and when I left you last, I thought I was finally free of you!" Misty joked, laughing heartily. Pikachu then jumped into her arms and cried out happily, glad to see Misty again. "Hi, Pikachu! How lovely to see you again."

"Aww, your more happy to see him than me?" Ash laughed.

"Now don't start arguing again like you did when we all travelled together," chuckled Brock, waving his finger. "It's Christmas; a time of peace and goodwill, not fights."

"Okay, Brock," Misty giggled. "It's so good to hear your advice again after all this time." Then she turned to Dawn. "Hello, who's this? A new companion of yours?"

"Misty, this is Dawn," said Ash. "Dawn, this is Misty, my first travelling compainion, who shared alot of arguements with me."

"Hello Misty," smiled Dawn.

Misty smiled back. "Hello Dawn. How do you like travelling with Ash? Does he still boast about how great he thinks he is?"

"Indeed he does."

"Some things never change!" The two girls shared a giggle. Ash fumed a little, but Tracey nudged him and whispered to him to calm down.

"So May departed from you then?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, but she and Max are coming to the party," replied Brock.

It was then when Ash realised that May wasn't there. He looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. "Hey Mom! Where's May? I thought you said in the letter she was coming."

"I did, but maybe she's just running a little late. I'm sure she'll come though."

"Yeah, like I say Ash," put in Dawn. "No need to worry!"

But secretly, Ash was worried. The entire reason he had come to the party was to be reunited with the girl he loved and had missed for so long. What if she didn't come? He would be more heartbroken than ever.

"Right, I'm going to cook the Christmas dinner," announced Delia. "Brock, would you mind giving me a hand, since you're such a wonderful cook?"

"No problem," replied Brock. "I'd be happy to help."

So Brock followed Delia into the kitchen, leaving Ash, Dawn, Misty, Tracey and Pikachu in the sitting room. Mr Mime then came in, carrying a tray of mince pies, which he offered to them. Misty, Tracey and Dawn happily accepted, but Ash was so lost in his worried thoughts of May not showing up, he didn't even notice the psychic-type standing by him,holding the tray for him to take a mince pie. After a minute of this, Mr Mime returned to the kitchen.

Just then, Pikachu spotted something on the floor and pointed at it with his paw. Misty picked it up. "It's a mistletoe!" She turned to Tracey and smiled. "Fancy making use of it?"

"Sure thing!"

Misty held the mistletoe above their heads and closed her eyes. Tracey gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Misty smiled, opened her eyes and passed the mistletoe to Dawn.

Dawn held the mistletoe above her head. "C'mon Ash. Let's make use of this mistletoe."

Ash was still worrying about May, when he heard these words and snapped out of his thoughts. He looked at Dawn holding the mistletoe, frowned and turned away in disgust. "No thank you, Dawn!"

"Hey, it's not that I have a crush on you," retorted Dawn huffily. "Even though Christmas is the season of love!"

"That's one thing you haven't learnt about Ash yet," remarked Misty, her hands on her hips. "He doesn't do the love thing! He doesn't know about feelings people share for one another. He doesn't understand and never will!"

That made Ash angry. He wanted to bellow at Misty about how right now he _did_ have feelings for a girl, who he would fight to keep safe and would risk his life to save her, and how he had missed her so much since she had been gone.

But the thoughts of May just made him sad again about how he had been expecting her to be here, and that she hadn't arrived, and might not either. _And besides,_ thought Ash, _it's like Brock said; it's a time of peace and goodwill, not fights. Mom's working really hard to make this Christmas special. I'd better not ruin it by yelling at Misty. It's a time of love - only my love isn't here._

So Ash just sagged miserably onto the sofa. Pikachu sat next to him and looked up at him, worried for his master and best friend.

Outside, Team Rocket were gazing through the window.

"Should we go in now while the leader of the twerps is upset?" James suggested. "He mightn't even notice Pikachu is gone, seeing how sad he looks."

"No," exclaimed Jessie. "We'll wait until there's a big commotion. There's bound to be one. Then while everyone's distracted, we'll break in and steal Pikachu."

"Okay, but if dere's gonna be a commotion, it'd better better happen soon!" Meowth whined. "It's gettin' colder out here and I'm turnin' into a snowcat!"

* * *

**So May isn't at the party as Ash was expecting. Where is she? Only I know - and you will find out in the next chapter!**


	4. Avalanche

**Apoligies for the delay of this fourth chapter. I haven't had much of a chance to write. But when writing this story, if I take long to update, I haven't forgotten. Too many stories on this website don't get finished, and I don't want mine to be the same.**

**Anyway, now we're at the moment you've all been waiting for; where May finally comes into the story - and where the problem occurs.**

* * *

Not too far away, a certain brown-haired girl, dressed in a red blouse, white skirt, blue shorts and a red bandanna, was racing quickly through the falling snow, accompanied by her younger brother.

May had recieved Delia's invition the day before, and happily accepted. She was excited about going to a party and seeing her friends again. But most of all, she was looking forward to seeing Ash. She had missed him so badly since she had left him, and had spent her months regretting it.

And now that she had been given an invitation to go to a party at his house, she now had the opportunity to be reunited with him and confess her feelings - even if he didn't feel the same way about her. She had to tell him.

But right now, May was running late. She had spent most of the day looking for a suitable Christmas present for him. After finally managing to find something, she had raced to the dock - only to find she had missed the ship she was to catch to the Kanto region. Thankfully, another one was due, but not only didn't it arrive until another few hours, it missed the tides and was delayed. It was very late to leave, and it was dark by the time it reached the Kanto region. When May got off the ship, she met Max, who had taken a ship from Petalburg to Kanto. Once May had arrived, he had proceeded to complain about her being so late.

And now, they were hurrying along together towards Pallet. They were trying their best to keep warm, as they weren't wearing any Winter clothes. They hadn't expected snow in Kanto.

"Hurry, Max," said May impatiently. "We gotta get there quickly! I can't wait to see Ash again"

"I'm hurrying," panted Max wearily. "But you seem really enthusiastic about seeing Ash for some reason!"

"Don't you wanna see your old friend again?!"

"Well, yeah! But if I didn't know any better - I'd say you had a crush on him!"

For a moment, May silently panicked, fearing that Max had worked out the biggest secret of her life. She was about to deny it - but she knew if she did, that she would only prove Max right, and he would proceed to tease her. But she still didn't want to admit to him.

So May just decided not to answer to what he said and carry on making their way to Pallet.

They were almost there, when the wind suddenly started to blow more fiercely, turning the snowfall from a beautiful white Christmas scene into a teerible blizzard. May and Max struggled along, snowflakes blowing into their faces, making it hard to see.

"C'mom, Max!" May cried. "We have to get to Pallet and out of this blizzard.

Then suddenly, a beam of light shot out of one of May's Poké Balls, and out came Skitty. May and Max stopped running immediately. May picked up her Poké Ball to recall Skitty, when the kitten Pokémon suddenly darted off in one direction. She was chasing after a Rattata, having picked up its scent as soon as she had come out. The Rattata ran as fast as it could, and Skitty happily set chase.

"Skitty! Come back!" May called, and quickly chased after her, followed by Max.

Skitty chased the Rattata into a small cave, on top of which was a large pile of snow. May followed them inside, while Max stayed outside. Thankfully, the inside of the cave led to nowhere but a dead end. May caught up with Skitty, who was about to pounce on the Rattata and picked her up. "Back in your Poké Ball, Skitty." The little kitten Pokémon returned to her Poké Ball.

Then suddenly, from above the cave, there was a rumbling noise. "May! Get out quick!" called Max.

The Rattata sensed the danger and ran out of the opening to the cave. May started to run towards the opening, but she wasn't quick enough.

The pile of snow on top of the cave had been blown over by the strong wind, and it suddenly fell in front of the entrance, causing a large pile up. Max gasped, and stood back so as not to get caught in it. Inside the cave, May watched in horror as the only way out of the cave started to quickly get blocked.

When the avalanche finally stopped, Max saw that the pile of snow that had formed had blocked the entrance, and he was horrified at this, knowing his sister was still inside. He ran up to pile. "May! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!"

"Max!" Came a muffled reply. "I'm okay! I'm just trapped! Can you get me out?!"

Max tried to dig at the snow with his hands, but it was much too thick. "No, May, I can't! What should I do?!"

"Go on to Ash's house. Tell him to come and get me out. If anyone can help me, he can!"

"Right away!" And with that, Max rushed on to Pallet to tell Ash. Inside the cave, May was half hopeful and half afraid. Hopeful, because she hoped the boy she loved would come to save her and they would be together again, but afraid, because she didn't know whether she's see the light of day again, let alone the boy she loved.

* * *

**So May finds herself trapped in a cave and needs Ash to save her. What a way for them to be reunited. Will it be successful though?**

**By the way, I just want to point out that the reason I decided to have May in her Advanced Generation clothes is because I always preferred them to her Emerald clothes. Heh!**


	5. A Loyal Young Hero

Back at Ash's house, everyone was sat around a large table in the kitchen, eating Christmas dinner. Misty and Tracey were catching up on old times with Brock, and they were soon friends with Dawn. The four of them were also telling Delia how they were getting on.

Ash, however, sat in silence, staring gloomily at his plate, which had barely anything eaten off it. He was still disappointed that May hadn't turned up, and he didn't know whether she would. Pikachu sat at his feet, worried about him.

"Ash, honey," said Delia. "Why don't you eat some food? You've hardly eaten anything, and Brock and I have worked hard to cook this.

"Sorry, Mom." Ash scooped up a spoon of peas and held it to his mouth. He opened his mouth, then closed it.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Delia asked concerned. "Are you sick?"

"Mom, is May definitely coming?"

"I really don't know, dear. I couldn't even tell if you were all coming. I just found out when you turned up. We've saved her and Max a plate of Christmas dinner. I'm sure she will come. She'd be so delighted to see you again!"

_Not likely, otherwise she'd be here,_ thought Ash sadly. _I bet right now she's celebrating Christmas under a mistletoe with Drew. I wouldn't be surprised if she forgot I exist._

Outside, Team Rocket were watching through the kitchen window, freezing in the cold blizzard.

"Can we go in already?!" moaned James. "I don't think I can take much more of this freezing weather!"

"No! We have to wait!" snapped Jessie, her cheeks red. James and Meowth couldn't tell whether they were red from anger or being cold.

"Dis fur I have is supposed to supposed to keep a cat warm!" complained Meowth. "But it's not doin' a good job!"

James watched Ash looking down at his plate of food through the window. "If that twerp isn't gonna eat that nice warm meal, I'll have it! It'll keep me warm - and satisfy my hunger!"

Then all of a sudden, the trio heard a loud banging noise coming from the front of the house.

Inside, Ash and the others had heard it too, and knew it was someone banging on the front door. Delia smiled at Ash. "What did I tell you, honey? There's May now!"

"Alright!" Ash cried happily, and he jumped up from his chair and raced to the front door, and flung it open, beaming.

Then his face changed to a shocked expression.

_"Max?!_"

Max was standing in front of him, stood out in the blizzard. He was shivering and hugging himself to keep warm. Ash saw that he was not wearing any Winter clothing.

"A-Ash! Th-thank g-g-goodness you're here! Y-y-you have t-t-to help May!"

"May?! Where is May? Is she okay? Are _you_ okay, Max?! You must be freezing!"

Delia then came to the front door from the kitchen. "What's going on?" Then she saw Max stood out in the cold. "Oh my goodness! Come on in, you poor thing! You must be freezing!"

A few minutes later, everyone was sat in the living room. Max was wrapped up in some dry towels Delia had brought him, telling everyone about why he and May were late and what had happened to her, much to the others' shock.

"So you see," he finished, "she told me to fetch Ash to help her."

At that moment, Ash got up and headed towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" asked Dawn.

"Where d'you think I'm going?" scoffed Ash. "I'm going to save May!"

"Ash! You can't go out there!" cried Delia. "That's a fierce blizzard!"

"I don't care, Mom! I'm going!"

"No! I can't let you go out in a blizzard!"

"What do you expect me to do, Mom? Just leave her trapped in that cave?!"

"We can call other people and send them to help her!"

"No, Mom! I can't just sit here and leave May trapped in that cave. When I took her as my travelling companion, it was my responsibility to look after her. Now that she's somewhere nearby, trapped in a cave, that responsibility has to come in."

Delia turned to the others for support, but they said nothing. They were all touched by what Ash had said, and therefore, had earned new respect for him (even Misty). Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Delia sighed and admitted defeat. "Alright, Ash. But you'd better be careful."

"Don't worry, Mom! Going on so many adventures during my Pokémon journey, I'm used to situations like this. I can easily handle them. You're just being overprotective." Ash grabbed a Winter jacket off a coat stand and put it on. Then, Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. Ash picked him off and held him in front of him. "No, Pikachu. You can't come with me!"

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon retorted angrily.

"I know you wanna help. But that's a fierce blizzard out there. I can't let you go out there. I-" Ash stopped. He looked away from Pikachu, and turned to Delia and the others, who were all grinning. "What?!"

"Now who's being overprotective?" asked Delia.

"As everyone knows, you two are both as stubborn as each other," chuckled Misty.

Ash smiled, realising how silly he was being. He turned to Pikachu. "Alright, buddy! You can come! Maybe I could really use your help!"

"Pika Pi!"

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder. Ash opened the front door, receiving a cold blast of air, and started to run out of the house and into the cold blizzard.

The others all ran to the open door and watched him head away from the house. "Good luck!" They all called, but Ash didn't hear them, as their call was drown out by the strong wind.

They all worriedly watched Ash head away from the house, then closed the door.

Just then, Team Rocket, who had heard them call out, crawled around to the front of the house, and spotted Ash with Pikachu, about to head out of Pallet.

"Where's the twerp going with Pikachu?" asked Jessie.

"In weather like this?" wondered James.

"I dunno," added Meowth. "but if Pikachu's with him, den we'd better go too!"

So the trio sneaked away from Ash's house as headed after Ash. They were quite a distance away from him, but they did their best to keep him in sight.

* * *

**And so, Ash heads off to rescue May - but we're gonna have to wait until next chapter when we see him do it!**

**Now time is kind of running out. I hope to finish this by Christmas Eve. I was planning to make this a three chapter story. I didn't think it would be this long. Now it's a week away until Christmas. But hopefully, I can get this finished.**


	6. Rescue & Battle

Ash ran quickly out of Pallet and into the open fields, through the strong wind and the heavy falling snow, and Pikachu followed at his feet.

It wasn't easy running in this weather. The wind blew stinging icy blasts into Ash's face. The snowflakes blew into his eyes, making it hard to see. He was feeling very cold. Not even his Winter jacket could keep him warm. "It must be nice having a fur coat to keep you warm," he said to Pikachu. Pikachu would have disagreed that he wasn't feeling any warmer than Ash, but he didn't even hear what Ash had said, because it had been drowned out by the strong winds.

Presently, they saw the cave with the snowdrift blocking the opening in the distance, and they ran as fast as they could towards it.

When they reached the cave, they stopped and examined the snowdrift in silence. It was much bigger than they thought. During the time Max had gone to tell them and when they had come to help, the pile had gotten bigger due to the falling snow.

Then Ash called out. "May! May, can you hear me?! Are you alright?!"

For a while, there was silence, which made Ash and Pikachu panic. Then, to their relief, they heard a muffled reply; "Ash?! Is that you?!"

"Yes May! Are you okay?!"

"I'm not hurt! I'm just freezing! Please get me out!"

"Don't worry, May! I'll have you out real soon!" With that, Ash started to dig away at the snowdrift with his hands. Pikachu sat and watched.

But it was no use. The snow was much too thick. Ash could bearly get his hands into the drift, and he could only pick up small handfuls of snow. But it made no difference. The pile did not get any smaller.

Ash tried unsuccessfully to dig away the snow for about five minutes, then threw himself onto the the thick pile. "How can I not dig this away?! It's only a pile of frozen-" He broke off, and looked at the pile. "It's only water." He turned to Pikachu. _And water conducts electricity,_ he thought.

"May! Stand as far back from the snowdrift as you can!"

"Okay, Ash!" From behind the pile, Ash heard May's footsteps as she backed from the blockage. Then he turned to Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Launch a thunderbolt attack at the snowdrift!"

"PI-KA-CHUUUUU!!!" A blast of electricity shot from Pikachu at the snowdrift, which broke it apart and send piles of snow flying everywhere. One pile hit Ash in the face and knocked him over onto his back.

When he picked himself up, he looked into the cave and gasped. There, standing in the cave, was the girl he loved. The girl he had been dying to see all these months since they had separated, and at last, she was here in front of him. However, she was not in the state he was hoping. She was right now shivering and hugging herself.

When she saw him, she ran straight at him and flung her arms around him. "Ash! I can't believe your here!"

Ash wrapped his arms around her, giving her comfort and warmth. "I've missed you so much, May!"

"I've missed you as well, Ash!" May then looked at Pikachu, who smiled at her. She smiled back. "You too, Pikachu!"

Then suddenly, a loud female voice boomed out and made them jump "Well, well, well! Isn't this touching!"

"It is, even for a couple of twerps!" A man's voice added.

Ash let go of May and clenched his hands into fists. "Who's there!"

"I know those voices!" May shouted angrily. "A couple of voices I haven't heard in a long time."

And sure enough, out came Team Rocket.

"Prepare for trouble! You're in for a nasty surprise!"

"Make it double! It's from us guys!"

"To wreak Christmas and make everyone sad!"

"To give out presents which are truly bad!"

"To get steal Pokémon the festive way!"

"To get rare Pokémon by Christmas Day!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"In this time of peace and goodwill!"

"Team Rocket still have evil deeds to fulfill!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

"So you haven't changed at all then?" said May crossly. "Why can't you just leave us alone?! Its Christmas."

"Do you really think we care that its Christmas?" Jessie laughed. "All we care about is getting that Pikachu! Now give it to us now!"

"I'm not letting you have Pikachu!" shouted Ash angrily.

"Well then, if you won't let us have it," glared James, taking out a Poké Ball, "we'll just have to take it off you! Carnivine! Go!" James released the ball, sending out his carnivorous grass-type.

Ash reached to choose a ball, but May stopped him. "Let me handle this! I've been longing for a good battle with these guys for a long time!" She reached out and took a carnivorous Poké Ball. "Go, Venusaur!" Out came the grass-type which Ash had only seen during the Wallace Cup.

"Carnivine! Use bullet seed!" ordered James. Carnivine immediately send out showers of bullet seeds towards Venusaur.

But May was quick with her orders. "Use vine whip!"

Venusaur quickly sent out large vines which swiped at the tiny bullet seeds, knocking them back. Carnivine carried on sending them out, but saw that it was useless, so stopped. After knocking away at the bullet seeds, Venusaur swung the vines at Carnivine and whipped it hard.

"Go Seviper!" ordered Jessie, releasing a Poké Ball which released her poison-type. "Use bite!"

Seviper lunged at Venusaur, but recieved a strong whip across the face by Venusaur's vines. It fell back and landed on the ground.

"Use razor leaf!" ordered May. Venusaur quickly sent several leaves out of its bulb at all of Team Rocket, who screamed in terror.

May turned to Ash and smiled. "Would you like to finish this one?"

"Alright!" Ash turned to Pikachu and pointed at Team Rocket. "Okay Pikachu! Let's finish this one with a thunderbolt!"

"PI-KA-CHUUUUU!!!" For the second time that day, Pikachu sent out another blast of electricity, this time at the foes who kept trying to steal him.

They all screamed in terror and pain, then there was an explosion, which sent them flying into the sky.

"We've all been very bad this year," moaned Jessie, as they flew through the sky."

"And this is what we get for Christmas," whined James.

"Well let's just make to most of the last few days of this year," added Meowth, "and try again next year!"

"We're blasting off again!" They all cried out in unison, as they all flew into the sky and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

**Well, we're near the end of the story now. I must say, this chapter was the longest and hardest to write. Especially trying to get good detail in the battle. And the motto was hard too, because I wanted a Christmassy one, but it was hard to come up with. I don't know if I came up with was that good. What do you think?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. So please stay tuned for the seventh and final one, coming soon.**


	7. Together At Last

**Well, here's the last chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Well done, May!" Ash cried happily.

May was very pleased. But then a strong gust of wind reminded her how cold she was. "V-Venusaur! R-R-Return!" She stuttered, recalling her Grass-Type.

Ash saw how cold she was, so he took off his Winter jacket. "Here, May. Put this on."

"Are you sure, Ash? But you'll be cold!"

"Don't worry about me. Let's just get you back to the house," said Ash.

He handed May the jacket and she put it on, embracing it as it made her feel nice and warm. "Thanks, Ash."

Then May took Ash's hand, and Pikachu jumped onto his mater's shoulder. Then together, they quickly made their way through the blizzard and back to Ash's house.

When they arrived at the house, they quickly walked through the front door. Everyone jumped up and gasped to see Ash and Pikachu return with a frozen May.

"Ash! You're back!" cried Delia. "And May! Oh my goodness! You're frozen! Are you okay?!"

Delia quickly fetched some warm blankets and led May to the sofa. May sat down and Delia wrapped the blankets around the girl.

"I'm sorry if I've ruined your party, Mrs Ketchum," said May sadly.

"Not at all, dear," smiled Delia. "I just want to make sure you're all okay."

"Here, Mom. I'll look after May," offered Ash. "You just carry on with the party and enjoy yourself."

"Oh, how sweet of you, Doctor Ash!" Delia beamed, and she kissed Ash on the forehead, making him go red with anger. May giggled.

So Delia left May and went to join the others to continue the party. Ash sat down on the sofa next to May and put his arm around her, giving her warmth and comfort. Pikachu sat with them.

"Thanks for saving me tonight, Ash. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's okay, May." Ash smiled modestly. Then he got up and made his way out of the room, and Pikachu followed.

"Where are you going?" May asked. But they left the room without an answer.

Ash went into his room, opened his backpack and took the picture frame out. Then he continued to reach into the backpack and pulled out a photograph of May which he had kept in his backpack and had been admiring in his own privacy. He slipped it inside the picture frame. Then he pulled out some Christmas wrapping paper and quickly wrapped up the present. Then he showed it to Pikachu. "Pikachu, later tonight, I have an important job for you." Ash told Pikachu what he wanted him to do, and Pikachu happily agreed. They left the room then to go back to keeping May company.

Later that night, it was time for everyone to leave. They were all going to leave Pallet and spend the night at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Ash, however, was going to stay the night at home, along with Pikachu. Misty, Dawn, Tracey and Brock were all heading out of the front door, saying their goodbyes and thanking Delia for the party. Max was getting ready to leave, but May was still sitting on the sofa, not looking like she was ready to leave.

"Hey, May, ya coming?!" asked Max.

May didn't answer. She just looked down at her feet. The fact was after being reunited with Ash tonight, she didn't want to leave him again. Not now, not ever.

Then Ash spoke out; "Mom! Can May stay the night over?!"

At these words, May gasped in surprise. Delia was also stunned.

"That is if she wants to!" Ash quickly added.

"I'd like to," said May. "If it's no trouble Mrs Ketchum."

Delia smiled. "No trouble at all, dear. I don't think you'd want to go out in the snow again tonight."

"Oh thank you!" Ash and May cried in unison.

May then turned to Max. "You on to the Pokémon Center. You'll be okay without me, right."

"Sure," grinned Max. "But you and Ash had better not get up to anything icky tonight!"

May shook her head at her younger brother's wild imagination, but it caused her to blush a little.

Max joined the others, and they all headed away from the house. Ash, May, Pikachu and Delia stood at the doorway and waved goodbye until they were out of sight.

Later, May was in Ash's room, sitting on the bed. She was thinking how wonderful it was to be back with the boy she loved. She was also think about the next step from here. Although she had already spent three months in Johto, she was strongly thinking of changing her mind and doing what her heart was right now telling her to do.

Just then, the door to the room opened and in walked Ash. He was carrying a tray with two plates of Christmas dinner on it, along with two bowls of Christmas Pudding and two drinks. There were also two tall lit candles.

"Dinner for two," smiled Ash.

He set the plated down on the floor and turned out the bedroom light. He sat down of the floor and picked up his plate. May joined him on the floor, picking up her own. The two of them spent the next minutes enjoying their candle lit Christmas dinner.

When they had finished, the door to the room opened and in walked a small figure, dressed in a red hat and coat, with a sack swung over his shoulder.

When Ash and May saw him, they laughed. They knew instantly it wasn't really Santa Claus. They easily recognised the yellow fur and red cheeks.

"Right on time, Pikachu!" Ash laughed.

Pikachu set down the sack, then picked out a square object wrapped in Christmas wrapped paper. Then he walked over to May.

"I think that's for you," smiled Ash. "You should open it now."

May curiously took the present from Pikachu's mouth, unwrapped it and gasped. It was the picture frame Ash had bought her. She looked at the photograph at herself inside it for a few seconds, and then noticed the message at the bottom. After reading it, her eyes widened and tears of happiness rained down her cheeks. She turned to Ash. "Ash! Did you get me this?"

Ash nodded.

"Do you mean what it says at the bottom."

"Yes, May. I know I haven't told you this before, but you are the most sweetest, caring, beautiful girl I have ever met in my entire life. I can't live without you. You are what makes my life complete - and I love you!"

May's heart started beating very fast and she began panting. Then she threw herself onto Ash and hugged him tight. "I love you too, Ash!"

"You do?" Ash was surprised. "I always thought you loved Drew."

"What?! That creep?! You gotta be kidding!" May let go of Ash and frowned. "Apart from making fun of me, bringing me down and trying to look better than me all the time, what has that jerk ever done for me?!" May then smiled. "You are by far the opposite of him, Ash. You are kind and selfless. You always comfort and support me when I'm sad. And whenever I'm in danger, I have no reason to worry, because you always come to save me. You are the most wonderful guy a girl could have. That's why I want to join you on your journey again."

"You do? But when you left me, you wanted to go to Johto."

"I know! But I regretted it once I left you. All I ever did was cry over leaving you and wish I could join you again. Now that's you're finally here in front of me, I don't think I could go through that again. I need to follow my heart - and you."

Ash smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. Alright! You can come with me!"

May then cheered with happiness. "Thanks Ash. It'll be just like old times!"

Then they heard Pikachu called out above them (They were still on the floor). They looked up above them and saw him sat on Ash's bed, holding a mistletoe in his mouth.

"There's a mistletoe," said May. She turned back to Ash and smiled. "Wanna make use of it?"

"Okay then!"

May placed her hands on Ash's cheeks. "This is for seeing you again." She kissed him on one cheek. "Then is for saving me!" She kissed him on the other. "And this is to say 'I love you!'"

May then pulled Ash's head towards her own. They closed their eyes as at last, their lips joined. They shared each others sweet breath and passed their love for each other through their lips. Above them, Pikachu watched his master and the girl he loved finally share their love for each other, and smiled.

Outside, the blizzard had stopped, and the snow was now falling gently, being a beautiful white Christmas scene again. All the residents of Pallet were asleep, and were to wake up to a wonderful Christmas the next day. But nobody was to have a better Christmas than Ash Ketchum and May Maple. Now back together, sharing their love for each other, and to journey together again, but as a couple instead of friends, it was to be their best Christmas ever.

* * *

**And that everybody, concludes the story.**

**I hope you've enjoyed my first Advanceshipping story. I will definitely write more in the future. They will probably be much longer, and probably better than this first attempt. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and review as I've progressed this story. Your kind words mean a lot to me.**

**So until the next story, goodbye, thank you for reading and Merry Christmas!**


End file.
